I’m wondering, when on earth did UVU finally get a bachelor’s in Music Education???? Woooo! So I was perusing the course catalogue, and I’ve got everything for my BA or BS in Music except for 2 semesters of Music History, and 1 more piano class. But if I want my BS in Music Ed, it’ll be those 3 classes, plus Form & Analysis, Intro to Music Technology (I took this at CSULA, but I don’t know if they’ll count it), Scoring & Arranging, and Jazz Improvisation.

Those are just the extra Discipline Core Req’s, I’d also need:
Group Strings
Group Clarinet (Easy peasy!)
Group Trumpet (Also easy, just need to re-remember my fingerings, haven’t played a brass instrument in 8 years or so!)
Intro to Music Ed (took this one at CSULA, too, but not sure if it transfers over. It was fun, we got to visit a lot of different schools/ages of kids)
Percussion Practicum
String Practicum
Woodwind Practicum
Brass Practicum
Maybe 1 or 2 semesters of voice or clarinet or saxophone, but I took so many lessons at both CSULA and UVU that I doubt I HAVE to take more lessons. Now all the above in that list are 1 credit, easy peasy fun classes (Well, for me. And I’m sure my husband will just LOOOVE when I’m taking Group Strings and get to practice violin for a semester.) Still, all of these are doable within 2 semesters as long as I take 4 each semester (which is equal to 1 full credit class anyhow).

Now comes the hard part… Secondary Education! This is what would knock me out another year or more!!!

Development of the Adolescent Student
Educational Psychology
Foundations of American Education
Instructional Media
Exceptional Students
Classroom Management 1 and 2
Content Area Reading and Writing
Multicultural Education/ESL
Secondary Curriculum Instruction and Assessment
2 semesters of student teaching

Advanced Conducting (either choral or instrumental, I might want to take both)
Choral Liturature and Methods
Orchestra Liturature and Methods
Wind Band Liturature and Methods
Marching Band Techniques

And then one Gen Ed class in the Global/Intercultural requirement, since the school added that requirement in 2008.

WHEW! Can you see that I’d have my work cut out for me? I’m pretty sure that would take me 3 years…

So I guess as soon as my littles are in kindergarten, and any baby/child we might adopt are in preschool or daycare, THEN I can go back to school for 3 years, and get credentialed, and then work for almost no pay! But man, it would be SO FUN.

Basically that means in 2 years I can go back - I’ll be 29, finishing when I’m 31. Would I feel old doing that? Would it be better to just get the BA of Music (I could do that in 1 semester, except they spread the 2 music history classes over 2 semesters)… With a BA of Music, at least I’d have a bachelor’s degree, I could think more about performing. But I couldn’t teach at any higher than a private lessons type level, unless I got a job at a private school. And I know that someday I DO want to teach, probably as my kids enter middle school and get more autonomous. I mean, if I was totally honest, I’d love to be teaching right now. That’s why I even do the private lessons - even if I only have 5 students right now, that’s still 5 times a week I can help a child learn to love to make music.

I’ve actually been seriously thinking about getting Kindermusik certified so that I can teach young kids, and maybe asking the gal who runs my kids’ preschool if she’d be interested in having me teach there… but they already have 1 Kindermusik teacher.

So I’ve also been thinking about putting together my own curriculum for a couple of classes - for the preschool age group, I’d want to do a World Music and Movement class, where I can let them listen to music from all over, and maybe show a few basic folk dance moves. I’d also like to teach a preschooler’s Music Appreciation type class, where I can teach them the different instruments and how they sound and what types of music they play (Think listening to Peter and The Wolf, Aaron Copeland, that sort of fun stuff).

And then I’ve also been thinking about maybe getting into teaching a few Community Education classes - I noticed that right now they are offering exactly ZERO music classes - I could teach a Group Voice, Group Clarinet, and Group Saxophone class, a basic Music Appreciation class (geared more for adults), and a World Music class there… But I really need to go to the Cont. Ed. offices and ask them a million questions - would I need to find a place to hold classes, or would they have a classroom for me? Would I have to use literature that you buy on campus at UVU, or can I choose my own books? Would I be required to use CDs that already exist, or can I burn my own (for the world music and music appreciation students)? Would it be best to start with one or two classes, or would it be better to offer a great variety? I know that I could dedicate maybe 2 nights a week to classes, and do 2 or 3 classes in the evenings after suppertime. For the group instrument classes, I’d want to aim it towards adults who played back in school, but haven’t dusted off their instruments in who knows how long… I can give them a basic music reading refresher, and then probably use a basic method book (I’d maybe want to do a beginning and an intermediate class…) - and hey, sheesh, would it be better to split up the saxophones and clarinets, or would it be better to teach them together? I could even just make the class Group Woodwinds and work with the flutes and anyone who actually owns their own oboe/bassoon/whatever… (plus, if it was a winds group, I could have some fun concert/recital, have a few ensemble numbers and then each member do a solo!)

See? I have so many ideas, but sooooo many questions. And I don’t know which idea would be best… go back to school, and if so, which degree. Start getting serious about teaching, and if so, to small children, or adults?

Yeah, all this has been running through my mind the last few days, and it’s kind of driving me crazy! Maybe I should talk to my mother in law about it, she’s a musician, too.

I only realized today that American Apparel now sells fishnet body suits for cheaper than the online dance boutiques, and there’s a store in SLC… They also have a really pretty cross front short sleeve unitard. Now I *know* they market to club kids and jazz like that, but I don’t care, I’ll wear it for dancewear instead of party clothes.

I’m also tempted by their tye dye stuff, the funky pants they are calling harem pants look to my eyes a lot like churidar without the wrinkles at the ankles. I also think the tye dyed shorty unitard could be cute as part of a bellydance outfit, since it’s essentially a tank top that won’t come un-tucked.

I’ve never bought anything from there before, but I figure being able to drive there and try things on means it would be less of a hassle than randomly ordering things like that online, which is what I’ve been doing…

just catching up on dancing with the stars, and my kids absolutely loved shawn johnson and mark ballas dancing the quickstep… tink even tried to do a quickstep for me, after it was done. :)

well, tink and I had a blast at the faire, even if it was so hot and sunny my necklace started to burn my chest! I was all done up in a close to accurate ottoman empire getup (based on a miniature painting I like), except when I dance I loaded up with a jingly bra and big necklace. I tried playing music for tips, but after 20 min and no takers, I decided to take tink to the gas station for lunch instead of making her wait for people to give us cash. we danced twice, and the second time, tink dance the whole set with me! she was super cute. I also did a scimitar dance, and it was pretty popular and got a bunch of people to stop and watch our show. I just wish I had remembered my camera! it was too bright for the camera on my phone to do much, so I will just wait until the other girls email the photos they took. I burnt my arms, but everything else was fine. the car ride home was brutal though, because tink slept and didn’t talk to me!

So yeah, I keep telling myself I need to blog every day, but I’m always so tired I never get around to it…

Saturday my baby sister was married to her beloved - it was a beautiful day, up at Liberty Park. A nice, intimate ceremony in a gazebo on the lake. Very sweet ceremony, they wrote their own vows. I really really liked the rose ceremony that they incorporated, basically likening a red rose to the best gift we can give, the gift of love.

Of course, I left sewing my dress to the very last minute, but it turned out very pretty, and looked really nice with Tinkerbell’s flower girl dress and Pan’s ring bearer vest/tie combo.

The next big thing happening for me is the rennaisance fair in a little town a half hour north of Salt Lake (http://www.utahrenfest.com/) - my troupe is dancing right after the joust, and I’m taking Tink so she can dress up and see the princesses. I’m also planning on taking my pennywhistle, wooden recorder, my shenai, and maybe my clarinet, so that I can play music for monies.

Wednesday was Tink’s first bellydance class - she had a BLAST and was dissappointed when I told her it was a once a week class.

Coming up is my student recital for my music students, as well as ConDuit, the big sci-fi convention in Salt Lake. I’m also dancing at a nursing home in Provo later in the month.

About 6 weeks ago, I had an ultrasound for abdominal pain and we found a large cyst. Monday was the followup - the cyst is shrinking, so that’s a good sign. But the “oh crap” news is, they found a possible/probable pregnancy. Ummm, I had an ablation and tubal almost 2 years ago. I’m not supposed to be able to get pregnant. So today I go in to the doc’s office for a pregnancy test - because if it’s not a baby, it’s a growth of some sort. And with my medical history, probably not a good kind of growth. Not like, personal awareness or spiritual strengthening… more like a tumor. So for now I’m just going to blog it, and put it out of my mind, until I take the test. The one thing that worries me, though, is I have a tendency to test false-negative, I did so with both pregnancies.

So anyways, hooray for weddings, hooray for bellydance, boo to exhaustion, but at least I know why, now.

so, I know I haven’t been posting a lot lately - I’ve been a bit busy! Saturday a dog kind of fell into our laps, and all week he’s kept me going… Anyhow, this lady posted in a local online classified section that she had 2 dogs that really needed a good home, and they just happened to be Australian Shepherd mixes (the kind of dog my husband and I had decided would be a good fit with our family). This lady was about to go on a trip, and basically we knew if we didn’t get this dog, we would miss out and probably end up putting off getting a dog altogether. So we went to visit, and the dog was wonderful! mild, playful, and gentle with the kids… just a lot bigger than we expected. We brought him home (I sat in the back of the car with him to keep him calm), and he settled in really quick. He came to us completely untrained, an 11 month old dog who spent his entire life in a small pen. We kept his name (Jax), but soon discovered he didn’t even know it was his name. He learned it pretty quickly, and almost always comes when we call. He started out terrified of cement, glass, collarsl and his leash, but now he’s comfortable with everything but the leash… that will come, and then I can take him to obedience training. Tuesday we got him fixed, and boy was that an ordeal. Getting him there was fine, but coming home, he was mad at me and would NOT get in the car. He practically ripped out his fresh stitches repeatedly jumping out of the car, so I ended up having to call Matt to come help me get my grumpy, doped up pooch in the car. He’s been in an e-collar ever since, and hating every minute of it. This morning while I did my paper route, he apparently got the collar off and chewed up the straps to it… it’s back on, sealed with packing tape, until the pet store opens and I can get him a new one to wear. And yes, he was chewing his stitches. Poor guy. Luckily he only needs it for about 3 more days, then he’s free! And just a side note - my son is hilarious. The other day he said to me ‘Mom, you are mustard.’ I looked at him funny, and then he said, ‘and mom, I am ketchup!’ and then he leaned over and hugged me. Awww! He is also obsessing over this swine flu thing, and shouted yesterday, ‘I see them! I see the swine flues!’ I keep explaining to him that the germs are tiny and invisible, and his chance of getting sick is slim to none right now anyhow. He doesn’t believe me.

YIKES. We got tons and tons of super mushy snow last night, and that led to me finishing my paper route at 8:15 in the morning. It’s supposed to take 45 minutes and be done at 6.

Yeah, so first I had to dig my car out of the cul de sac I live in, and get to work. Then I got stuck 5 houses into my route, and had to wait until my husband could dig himself out of our cul de sac, then bring a giant snow shovel, and help dig me out.

Thankfully, he left me the shovel, because I had to dig myself out 4 more times. And walk through snow knee high or deeper.

WOO.

But it’s done, I’m home, and I don’t have to go out again until 10 am.

But COME ON nearly 3 hours to deliver 129 papers!!!

I am back to the gym, just a little more gently than before. working around the cyst isn’t much fun, but I am sure I can build my endurance back up. one thing I am a little worried about is my thyroid - I am feeling a lot like I was before, shortly after my girl was born. very tired and run down, can’t lose weight, and my palpitations show up if I am woken up out of schedule or surprised or overexerted. thursday I go back to the dr to see why I am so tired all the time. I also decided yesterday that the gym is mandatory, monday through friday. no more pussyfooting about, saying ‘ooh I have the sniffles, I will go home and sleep’… I am going to the gym and then if I am still tired, maybe then I can have a nap. only bad thing is, my caffiene consumption is up, to compensate for the grogginess. otherwise I need a 3 hour nap to get me through the day. blegh.

Last night I had to call animal control on a dog that wanted to eat me…

I was coming home from dance class, and I had on a coin scarf and I had my tambourine, so I was definitely jingly. I drive into my driveway and hear some very angry/territorial barking - I just kind of assumed that said doggie was in his usual post at the end of his driveway across the street from me. I opened my car door to get out, and holy poop. Big angry dog not 6 feet from me.

So I close the door, and wait.

Open the door…

BOWOWOWOWOWOWOWORRRGGGGGGGGGROWL.

Shut the door.

Silence.

Lather, rinse repeat.

So I called my husband to unlock the front door for me, so that I can just run inside and slam the door, instead of fiddle on the porch trying to open the door while the dog eats my behind. He kind of laughed at me a little on the phone, because well, the dog wasn’t barking…

He opens the front door a crack, and yup, as soon as I barely opened my car door the dog appeared and started madly barking and growling at me, so I RAN *jinglejinglejingle* inside. Called the animal control folks. They sent over an officer to talk to the owner, since the dog was still hanging out in the cul-de-sac with no leash, no nothing.

Today? Doggie is in his yard, with the gate closed for the very first time! He didn’t bark at us while getting to/from preschool. <3 Yay.

Also, I stopped at the gas station after class to fill up my car, and as I’m going to pay for gas, some gal leans out of her truck and yells “What ARE you?!?!” - at first I was kind of like “Buh?” until I realized she meant my skirts and jinglies - so I holled back “I’m a belly dancer, of course!” and did a little shimmy step.

also, trying to figure out if I should work out or not, with this cyst thingy - physical activity makes it hurt more :(